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Little pied bat (Chalinolobus picatus) Image credit: Terry Reardon & Michael Pennay

Autumn 2018

Mega Murray-Darling microbat project update
Laratinga wetlands provides birding fun for families
Lawari Conservation Park bird surveys
Calling all expert frog spotters
Two waterbug bioblitz events conducted
Citizen science day at The University of Adelaide
Save the dates fungi season is almost here!
Karoonda Farm Fair wrap up
What to do if you spot an echidna
Help gather much needed data on our declining turtle populations
Find us now on Facebook
 
Microbat reference calls recorded

In February, a team of South Australian bat experts camped out at Chowilla Station north of Renmark to collect reference calls.  The process involved trapping bats in the evening, identifying each bat species and then releasing each individual while recording its call as it flies off into the moonlight.

We collected some great reference calls that we will use to make identification keys for your recordings, and we also recorded some new distribution records for the state!

Seven species: Gould’s wattled bat, lesser long-eared bat, inland free-tail bat, eastern free-tailed bat, inland forest bat, little forest bat and the little pied bat, were caught in mist nests and bat traps at three sites, while the white-striped free-tail bat was also heard at all sites.  The little forest bat, which was caught on the last night on the Danggali track, is the northern-most record in SA and the little pied bat capture was about 50 km south of the nearest record in SA. The little pied bat is an endangered species in SA.

   
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Above map shows locations of Anabat recording sites.

Mega Murray-Darling microbat project update

Over 300 people have attended 11 bat nights across the region and learnt about the project and their local microbat neighbours.  We thank Chris Grant, Dennis Matthews and Matt Humphrey for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for microbats at these nights.

Nearly 200 people have completed the social survey, which is telling us that people like bats and have good knowledge of them; we also gain insight into where participants are and what areas we need to target next

Over 150 Anabat surveys have been logged on the BioCollect portal, a huge thank you to all of our citizen scientists for surveying your properties! See map above for locations of Anabat recording sites.

Anabat recorders have even been tripping up and down the Murray on board boats including the Murray Princess.

A large amount of the call data has now been sent to the SA Museum for them to start their species identification work.

To learn more about the MEGA Murray-Darling Microbat Project click here.


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"Twitchy" families enjoying a day out at Laratinga Wetlands learning how to identify local birds.

Laratinga wetlands provides birding fun for families

The 'Birding Fun for Families' workshop facilitated by our NRM Education and citizen science teams was a huge success, with over 40 children and parents enjoying a beautiful autumn day at Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker.

Birds SA president, John Gitsham introduced the kids to bird identification guides (pictured). Many were already knowledgeable birders, but all were enthusiastic and there were robust discussions about what distinguishes birds from other animals? (answer: feathers, along with distinctive features of hollow bones for flight, and beaks). We have some very promising up-and-coming citizen scientists here!

If you are interested in becoming a birder for the SA Murray-Darling Basin region find out more about what is involved and upcoming surveys click here.


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Lawari bird survey with Harry, Sue, Ian, Rod, Sally and John. Inset: Superb fairy wren (Image credit: Martin Stokes)

Lawari Conservation Park bird surveys

Birding expert John Gitsham set up three survey sites in revegetation of varying age classes within the newly formed Lawari Conservation Park.

We conducted three 20 minute two hectare surveys and recorded some exciting bird sightings, including whistling kite, Australian shelduck, superb fairy wrens and a golden-headed cisticola.


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Image credit: Painted frog. Photo: Martin Stokes

Calling all expert frog spotters

FrogWatchSA is in the process of recruiting expert frog spotters to assist the FrogWatch team as an 'Identifier' to verify frog calls.

We recently conducted a FrogWatchSA workshop for participants to learn about the FrogSpotter app and frog call identification.

The workshop was booked out and due to its popularity we will shortly be releasing a video recording so those who attended can get a refresher, or those who couldn't make would like to know more can watch it

Not sure if you qualify as an Identifier? For more information and to take some practice tests click here.

By assisting with frog monitoring you can help us understand the health and distribution of our local frog species. 


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Collecting water samples near Strathalbyn

Two waterbug bioblitz events conducted

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Waterbug Bioblitz community data workshop at the Strathalbyn Natural Resources Office in March and last week in May.

Together we looked at water quality, macroinvertebrates and riparian vegetation data from the past two years of Waterbug Bioblitz surveys. We mapped and compared information from across the Angas and Finniss catchments. We had some fantastic discussions, in particular on the topics of complexity of ecological data and how to interpret and simplify the data for reporting back to the community.

We are now working on the report and hope to make it available by the end of June 2018.


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Interested participants catching up with us at the citizen science day

Citizen science day at The University of Adelaide

In conjunction with WWF’s Earth Hour and the Environment Institute we participated in a 'Citizen Science Day' at the University of Adelaide in March. We created displays and presentations for the Mega Murray-Darling Basin Microbat and Fungimap projects. Echidna CSI also talked about their citizen science work. Guest speakers Prof. Chris Daniels and Dr. Peggy Rismiller entertained over 100 participants.


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Nargan's bonnet (Mycena nargan) prefers larger dead wood habitats and is one of the ten target fungi in the SAMDB region (image credit: Nicola Barnes)

Save the dates fungi season is almost here!

SAVE THE DATES!

Renowned fungi expert Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher is coming to our region. Sapphire is FungiMap Coordinator and Botanical Consultant specialising in cryptogams (macrofungi, bryophytes, lichens and algae) 

Friday 15 June – evening talk (location to be advised)
Sunday 17 June – 2 fungi forays (flora walks)  (location to be advised)

More details will be available soon. In the meantime to register your interest please email nicola.barnes@sa.gov.au


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NRM Education team member Danielle getting close to 'Will' the carpet python and bottom inset "Bob" the tawny frogmouth having his afternoon nap.

Karoonda Farm Fair wrap up

Citizen science joined a wide variety of projects and programs from Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin that were on display at the Karoonda Farm Fair in April.

It was great to chat with visitors to the Farm Fair about getting involved in the Mega Murray-Darling Microbat and Fungimap projects.

We were situated next to the Animals Anonymous display, which always keeps us on our toes as you never sure what critter might be sitting next to you!


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Photo credit: Dan Irvine

What to do if you spot an echidna

If you see an echidna, please download the Echidna CSI mobile phone app and record the sighting for an innovative University of Adelaide study.

Check out the project on their website here and Facebook page here 


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Photo credit: TurtleSAT website

Help gather much needed data on our declining turtle populations

Australia's freshwater turtles are under serious threat, and they need our help for survival! Mounting evidence now suggests that many turtle species are declining across vast areas of Australia due to widespread drought, fox predation and human activities. To ensure their survival, some important evidence needs to be gathered, and it needs to be gathered quickly.

TurtleSAT is a fantastic citizen science project where you can report turtle sightings and contribute to scientists understanding of turtle distribution, abundance, behaviour and general ecology.

To get involved visit the website from the link above to learn more and download the mobile phone app.


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Find us now on Facebook

Natural Resources SAMDB now has a Facebook page! You can now like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram or suscribe to our Youtube channel.

If you have an event or good news story you would like us to support through our social media networks please let me know on katie.irvine@sa.gov.au

   
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Share your experience

The Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin team is always interested in your stories and experiences. If you are willing to share your story in an upcoming edition of the Citizen Science eNewsletter, please contact us.

 
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